Waterproofing Boots Naturally

Some of us have been tromping through quite a bit of moisture recently! But even if you weren’t hit by the hurricane, Fall Equinox often brings storms and rain. How to keep your boots nice and dry without silicone or solvents?

Find out the easy, all-natural answer for waterproofing your boots right here:

Many of us like to waterproof our winter boots, and all the commercially available products for this purpose use toxic solvents (that I know of, anyway), most of them petroleum-based. A wool expert introduced me to lanolin as a safe alternative leather waterproofer. Lanolin is the oil in sheep’s wool, and it is a natural water repellent that can be removed with no harm to the sheep. Available in pharmacies as “Anhydrous Lanolin,” and in a handy tube, lanolin is a rich, lubricating cream that can easily be rubbed into leather. A one ounce tube costs about $3, but a little dab’l do ya. Health food stores now offer a liquid lanolin used for cosmetic purposes for about $1 an ounce.

Read more: Home, Household Hints

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Ruth R.

1:36AM PST on Dec 1, 2010

Nice thought to use a natural substance and there are probably many. Thank You!

send a green star

1:35AM PST on Dec 1, 2010

what ever, what ever.

Dan S.

3:43AM PDT on Aug 23, 2010

It's hard to find some dependable boots, this was very usefull for me since I work for a Water Damage restoration company, cheers.

Janice P.

8:54AM PDT on Jul 23, 2010

I made a note of the name of the lanolin and the places I could buy it, intending to use it on all of my shoes and boots, until I read the comment made by Bug Me. "Traditional Mountaineering Magazine", the link to which that person provided, indeed does state that these natural applications can soften the leather, which most certainly would cut short the life of the footwear, and that they could void the warranty on leather products. I have thought twice about this. Thanks Bug Me. You just might have saved me some money.

Gavan A.

7:55AM PDT on Jun 8, 2010

Very informative, thanks you.

Heather B.

6:10PM PST on Feb 3, 2010

Thanks for the information, Annie.

Tonya B.

7:41AM PST on Jan 28, 2010

Thanks for the info.

Erin R.

6:30PM PST on Jan 21, 2010

Thanks for the link.